Daniel Cadieux Photographyhttp://www.dancadphotography.com
Bird, Wildlife, and Nature PhotographySat, 09 Feb 2019 17:28:34 +0000en-US
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.1http://www.dancadphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/cropped-site-ID-DCP-32x32.jpgDaniel Cadieux Photographyhttp://www.dancadphotography.com
3232Fine Feathers From Edge to Edge to Edge…to Edge.http://www.dancadphotography.com/fine-feathers-from-edge-to-edge-to-edge-to-edge/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/fine-feathers-from-edge-to-edge-to-edge-to-edge/#commentsSat, 09 Feb 2019 17:19:50 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=7636One thing I love to do when encountering larger tame birds is to photograph “abstract” close up details of the feathers. Waterfowl, especially ducks, are excellent subjects to experiment this with as their wings and flanks are often adorned with spectacular patterns and colours.

As usual, click on the image for a larger, more detailed version, then use the back button to resume reading:

The majority of the time, their best wing colours are actually hidden gems, most often only visible in flight, or during a wing stretch. At times you can see hints of those when they are at rest, usually when sleeping and in full relaxation mode. This is great for a couple of reasons. The first, obviously, is that you want those colours and patterns showing to add even more interest to the close ups. The second, is that photographing subjects from such a close distance is very difficult on a moving bird. Composing can be a real challenge, and getting a tack-sharp file, especially with slower shutter speeds, rather disadvantageous. Concentrating on a resting individual gives you all the freedom and time to properly compose and adjust settings on the spot, plus achieving desired sharpness a much easier proposition.

Photographing these subjects from so close requires stopping down the aperture, often quite a bit, to get the details rendered sharp on most (or all) of the “canvas”. Birds are not flat, and details at the edges or corners will fall off of depth-of-field (dof) range. Photographing wide open will almost always result in unpleasing large out-of-focus (oof) areas. Even stopping down will often result in slightly oof details at the edges, but in a much less obtrusive manner. If you cannot get the whole image within dof range, you will absolutely want to have the most visually engaging area of the plumage in sharp focus. That may be a bolder pattern, or brighter patch of colour. What ever part is most likely to have your eyes go to first must be sharp for this type of image to be successful.

Another thing to be careful with is composition, especially the way larger feathers, patterns, or colour patches are included within the frame. None of those should be slightly clipped at their points at the edges of the frame, and ideally with some space between the tip and the edge of the frame. If their is no way to fully include them, then a solid “cut” should be used. No two birds will present the same compositional challenges, with every image needing its own carefully composed visual elements planned and executed. I’ll often “fine-tune” a composition during post-processing via a small crop to help.

Although ducks are the main, and easiest, subjects mentioned here, there are many other possibilities with other species to this with. Anytime a bird allows close enough approach to be able to include a feather abstract, take a moment to evaluate the options, and go for it…it is fun and gets the creative juices flowing. Even if none of the frames turn out as anticipated, the educational value of experimenting like this is the best way to learn!

For those wondering how I got so close, the Bohemian Waxwing image above is from a window-strike victim. The bird was brought indoors and photographed as you see here. It was then returned to nature to “give back” to the cycle of life. Even in death it left a wonderful visual legacy to admire.

I hope these images gave you food for thought in what you can go for with large and tame birds. You can be sure that I will expand on my “abstract feather” portfolio with other potential subjkects such as geese, gulls, game birds, perhaps shorebirds, and/or other subjects…the sky’s the limit!

In finishing, which image in this blog post is your favorite (and why), leave a comment below to let me know!

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/fine-feathers-from-edge-to-edge-to-edge-to-edge/feed/6Top 10 of 2018!http://www.dancadphotography.com/top-10-of-2018/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/top-10-of-2018/#commentsSat, 29 Dec 2018 19:29:53 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=7608It’s that time of year again, and what a great one it was! So difficult to choose only ten images. Just to be clear here, the term “best” is quite subjective, and what it really should mean for this list is “personal favorites”.

So, before rambling on too much, let’s begin delving into my personal favorite images of 2018! (as usual, clicking on an image brings up a larger, more detailed version):

10. Blackburnian Warbler.

Warblers are some of the most challenging birds to successfully photgraph in an artistically pleasing way. Of those, the male Blackburnian Warbler is one of the most striking, and certainly my favorite. These guys love the canopy too, adding to the level of difficulty! This individual, photographed at my folks’ cottage about 25 minutes north of Ottawa, certainly did not disappoint!

Every year in June we get a few days when the female Snapping Turtles in a local conservation area come out of the water and start lay eggs in many spots around the area. As many as a few dozen of them can be found within minutes of walking the grounds of the park. I was photographing this individual from farther away when a couple of damselflies landed on her face. I took a few images, than began crawling up closer in the hopes they would stay there for full-frame head portraits. They did, and offered me a unique opportunity with this beautiful turtle. Stopping down the aperture provided a bit more depth-of-field for this type of close-up

On the afternoon of September 21st our region was hit with not one, but six tornadoes (three close to the city, and an additional 3 a little further out, but all from the same wicked storm system). Some homes were destroyed, and others (and businesses) were badly damaged. Later on in the early evening while at home I could see another related system moving through, and in the hopes of getting some amazing storm cloud formations I raced over to my favorite sunrise/sunset location which has vast natural unobstructed views of the sky across the river. That turned out to be a bust as far as storm photography went, but the sunset that developed as the system weakened was one of the better ones I’d seen in a long time! The image below is not the sunset at its most intense, but artistically it is my favorite of the session with the diagonal split between warm and cool colours.

Many local photographers/birders will recognize this nest, as it was particularly popular being located right by a busy local nature trail. So popular, in fact, that on sunny days it was almost impossible to manoeuvre due to large crowds. Nothing wrong with that per say, except I’m not as comfortable with larger crowds…so I went during cloudy or light rain mornings….most of those which I was either fully alone, or with a couple other keen photographer friends Besides, as I’ve written before “here“, cloudy conditions are my favorite for nature photography. Too boot, I also found a spot on the alternate side of the nest, which at first glance looked inaccessible, to photograph it from and give different views than what was otherwise offered. Here some rain weighed down the leaves to provide neat framing of the nest, which was now obstructed on the “popular” side. A small keyhole between leaves permitted a nice vantage point with the narrow field-of-view had by 700mm worth of focal lenght.

As many of you know, I am a fan of tight portraits, so when this female Pileated Woodpecker landed close I was a rather happy camper. Too close though, and rather than trying to remove the TC and potentially lose the opportunity I decided to back up slowly instead. While I was backing up she unexpectedly started to preen, and with a good head angle too! I knew that from so close any movement by the woodpecker would likely show more than usual in the images therefore I took many “bursts” in hopes some of them would be sharp. Some were, with this one being the best of the bunch.

Is there a bird in the Ottawa area more graceful than the Great Egret? Not sure. These guys are so delicate in their movements, and especially more apparent when they land silently and delicately in the shallow water like avian ballerinas. I had a nice morning with a few individuals that seemed more agitated than usual, which created many flight shot opportunities. The image I liked best had a few small touches that made it better than the others: fully flared feathers, a toe skimming the water surface, a line in the water from that skimming, and the small aquatic plant at right.

What list of mine would be complete without representation from my favorite family of birds to photograph – the shorebirds. I had lots of luck in being at the right place at the right time for bathing and post-bathing wing-flap situations this summer. More tips and tricks and images about this here. Anyhow, this Semipalmated Sandpiper was one of a few bathing simultaneously in front of me – I chose this one as it had no distractions behind or around it. Good call, as when it did its predicted after-bath wing-flap the coast was clear for a resulting clean frame, just the way I like it.

For the longest time I have wanted to photograph the various Common Goldeneye courtship behaviours. In the span of a couple of days in February I had the pleasure of witnessing and photographing exactly this, and from up close too. The sights and sounds felt as I looked through my viewfinder added tot he drama, and cannot be translated into photographs. Quite a few fun images were captured, and documented here, but his one in particular stood out for the intensity in of this eager male eyeing a nearby female.

An October day-trip with a friend to Algonquin Park in search of Fall wildlife proved fruitful yet again. I had never properly photographed a mature bull Moose at this time of year, so when we first spotted this big boy at the edge of a lake quenching its thirst as snow fell, it was almost too good to be true. The camera’s autofocus had a hard time locking on to the Moose due to the system being fooled into locking on to the falling snow instead, so careful manual focus fine-tuning was required here. A memorable sighting for sure!

2018 started off rather harshly as far as temperatures went, plunging to numbers colder than we had seen in years. Then factor in the wind chill to added (or substract) to the falling thermometer readings. I still went out on some of those days (with a family and full-time job you take all the free days, rain or shine!). needless to say I was pretty much the only one out there, save for another brave soul or two. On one particular morning things were rather pretty and covered by hoar frost. I saw what I thought was a bird flying real low and then landing behind a snowbank. When I investigated the spot, there was no sign of it at all. There was nowhere else it could have gone to, so it was a real head-scratcher. Then as if out of nowhere it popped up from inside this cavity adorned with growing hoar frost “icicles”. Smart robin, as it was obviously taking shelter from the wind and taking advantage of the few degrees warmer temps inside that cavity…and it gave me the chance to create unique images of this common species

I hope you can agree that 2018 was a great year for wildlife photography for me. Which one is your favorite, or do you agree with the list? Looking forward to what 2019 will bring, and in the meantime here are a few “honourable mentions” that almost made the cut!

Canon 7DII + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2500s., f/7.1, ISO 400
]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/top-10-of-2018/feed/18When Shorebirds Bathe and Flaphttp://www.dancadphotography.com/when-shorebirds-bathe-and-flap/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/when-shorebirds-bathe-and-flap/#commentsTue, 31 Jul 2018 19:49:02 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=7537Knowing your subjects’ behavior is an important factor in bird photography, and the “after-bath wing flap” is a perfect example. Many birds, especially the water-loving kinds, regularly bathe in shallow water as part of feather maintenance. Coming upon one that is bathing is a bonus opportunity that will yield many entertaining photographs, for a couple of specific behaviors that come with it.

The first reason is, obviously, the actual bathing part. This can last as short as a few seconds, or as long as a minute, or more. The action is usually fast and fun. The head dunks in the water repeatedly, the wings slap the water furiously, and the water action is flying in all directions. During this sequence it is easy to become over eager and “machine gun” it through until the camera’s buffer is full. This is not the best strategy as you may miss even better action while the camera is disabled due to it emptying its’ buffer onto the card. For me, the best way to go at it is to time the image taking when the bird dips its’ head in the water and fire 5-6 frames. The head is in the water for only a fraction of a second, but you will get the “pop up” and initial, more dramatic wing flapping action. Stop for a moment, then depress the shutter again for another 3-4 frames again if the action is still good. Repeat as necessary.

Second, there will come a time when you will be able to predict when the subject has completed the bathing part and will, 9 times out of 10, effectuate the obligatory “after bath” wing flap. It is short in duration (often less than a second), intense, and results in dramatic images. While the bird is bathing look for a pause in the action, and then, often, the neck raising a bit, as well as the overall posture (is if standing tall after crouching), and a slow and slight raise of the wings at the shoulder. When observing these potential clues, you know the bird will likely flap its wings to rid itself of excess water on its feathers.

– Stay as low as you can. This will minimize background distractions, if any, and will also give you a beautifully intimate perspective of the action.

– Use the same “wind and sun” direction as when photographing flying birds, that is, keep the wind and the sun at your back. Most birds, especially ones in open areas, like to face the wind when going about their activities, and same goes to bathing and wing flapping. This way you will have birds facing you, rather than away, and the sun at your back allows for better subject illumination. When cloudy sun direction is less critical, of course, but wind direction remains of importance.

– Use the central focus point, and keep that focus point on the subject’s face. Despite the fast action of a wing flap, it is remarkable how they can keep their faces rather steady.

– Keep enough room all around the subject. The raised wings take up lots of real estate, and you risk clipping some off if composed too tightly. That may mean the subject can be a touch small in the frame while it is performing the actual bathing. If your main goal is to photograph the bathing, than by all means move in, but keep in mind the wing flap may be a bust photography-wise.

– When anticipating an oncoming wing flap, point your lens up a bit, or lower your focus point down a level or two, to place the subject a bit lower in the frame. This will better your chances at getting the whole bird in the fame during the “jumping phase of the flap”. Some birds will jump rather high depending on wind speed and strength of the wing flap, and will move out of the frame no matter how hard you try, it’s simply part of the game! The next one may stay lower, but at least you will have yourself a better chance.

– During the wing flap, now is the time to “machine gun” the shutter. The action is usually not long enough to fully fill the camera’s buffer, and you will have a nice variety of poses to choose from to process.

The image directly below is the result of being too close to the bathing Black-bellied Plover. Luckily I was able to crop during post processing to make it look like an intentional cut rather than an accidental clip, which nicely put the black axillaries into evidence. More often than not, though, it means an image tossed into the trash can.

Hopefully this blogpost helped you realize that happening upon a bathing shorebird is an opportunity to pounce on, and that one or more of the tips I’ve offered can help in getting some good images out of the behavior. Although I kept it to shorebirds for this short article, do keep your eyes peeled for similar situations with gulls, terns, ducks, geese, swans, and other water-loving birds, which all, from time-to-time, like to bathe and flap…although the larger waterfowl will make it easier for you by not jumping during the flap!

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/when-shorebirds-bathe-and-flap/feed/4Uncommon Golden Opportunities with Common Goldeneyeshttp://www.dancadphotography.com/uncommon-golden-opportunities-with-common-goldeneyes/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/uncommon-golden-opportunities-with-common-goldeneyes/#commentsSun, 11 Mar 2018 17:56:30 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=7129One of the wintering waterfowl species we see locally during the winter months is the Common Goldeneye. They like shallow fast flowing water, and a couple of spots are perfect for them to hang out in to hunt for food, even during the deepest weeks of winter. There are a couple of disadvantageous to bird photographers though, at least up here: Their favorite spots are mostly too far for good photos, and they are normally very wary and retreating, wings whistling frantically at first sight. Luckily, their is one strategy that works relatively well, at least for flight opportunities. This requires finding a spot where where the ice has built up enough to both support your weight, and to significantly narrow the available open water, naturally bringing the ducks closer. They still remain wary, but they have a repeating habit of floating down-current, then when far downstream, fly back up the current and start floating down again. With time, luck, and patience, opportunities do arise (as per usual, clicking on the image opens up a larger and more detailed one, then simply clicking on the “back button” to return to the page):

When February rolls around, certain courtship behaviours begin to manifest themselves from the males. This is something I’ve always wanted to observe and photograph from close range, but as mentioned earlier, they are almost always too far. This year, however, there was as spot about a hundred yards away from where I was photographing these guys in flight where they seemed to congregate once in a while. I observed form afar, as usual, and then noticed them begin courtship behaviours rather energetically. I knew that approaching at that time would mean having them scatter away, so I waited until they moved on by their own will, then setup lying on the ice in hopes they would return to this “favorite” spot. After waiting about an hour, the first one, a male, drifted into the spot and arched towards shore into proper photographic range. It dove for food a few times, then flapped its wings in perfect angle to me.

After a few minutes another came in, then another, and another. Then a female, and another, and this made things interesting as the males began to get more antsy and started to call (sounding something similar passing a finger fast and strongly twice across the “teeth” of a hair comb). And then it began, right in front of me: courting behaviour! At first they drifted away far enough to include group behaviour images, which was fun. In the image below we can see three males trying to woo two alerted females.

Then they swam closer again, and this allowed for more intimate views of the various behaviours. From head throws, stretched necks, and foot splashing action, all was to be seen and heard. I was also able to isolate a few individuals to better concentrate on their individual movements. When the temperature is extremely cold, low angles like these are made impossible due to “heat” shimmer bouncing off the open water and causing softness to the images, but here the temperature was warmer and closer to the freezing mark, making for clear imagery from the low angles I prefer. To close, here area few more fun images of this very interesting species to observe. All the images on this blog entry were taken from two consecutive morning sessions on February 17th and 18th, 2018.:

Hope you enjoyed the series, and if you do have a favorite please do indicate which one by replying below

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/uncommon-golden-opportunities-with-common-goldeneyes/feed/6Top 10 of 2017!http://www.dancadphotography.com/top-10-of-2017/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/top-10-of-2017/#commentsThu, 28 Dec 2017 23:37:25 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=7051Already a year since last year’s “inaugural” list…time sure flies (bad bird-related pun unfortunately intended)! Another good year of images, with some pretty fun encounters and perhaps one “chance of a lifetime” one as well. A bit of repeat of 2016, in that no travel was done save for a couple of day trips to Algonquin Park. Luckily there is always lots going on locally. So let’s jump right into my personal “Top 10 of 2017” list of favorites:

10. Petrie Island Sunrise.

Hands down my favorite sunrise spot, and as a bonus, a short 5 minute drive from my front door. The fall season is the best time, as some of the very crisp mornings create misty conditions along the Ottawa River’s warmer water. Add layers of trees and tree lines and you got a recipe for amazing silhouette photo opportunities with lots of depth. Here is my favorite from this spot this year, created in October.

9. Tree Swallows at Nest.

Finding Tree Swallow nests is usually rather easy, but they are usually found in man-built nest boxes. Stumbling upon one in a natural tree cavity, at about eye-level no-less, is a huge bonus. I did not have my camera when I found this nest, so I returned that same evening to photograph the activity. The nestlings were already quite grown, and seemingly eager to venture out. After a successful session I planned on returning first thing the next morning to take advantage of the light that would hit the nest perfectly…when I got there the nestlings had already fledged.

8. Sanderling Wing Flap.

Shorebirds are my favorite family of birds to photograph, but this year the conditions at my favorite spots for these guys were abysmal due to very high water levels covering most of the habitat they prefer along the river’s shoreline. One spot I always check seemed promising as there is a lot of habitat even when the water is high. I had struck out on a few mornings, but one final check yielded a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs and a dozen Sanderlings. All it takes is one cooperative subject, so for me this was a bonanza, especially considering the shorebird “drought”. As luck would have it, the flock of Sanderlings began to bathe right in front of me…which only meant one thing for those of you that know bird bathing behaviour: after-bath wing flaps. I had a perfect sight-line to photograph this one from a very low angle, with no other birds in the way.

7. Black-throated Gray Warbler in Snowy Setting.

For a few weeks this late autumn / early winter a stray Black-throated Gray Warbler dazzled and entertained many birders and photographers in Ottawa. This bird was a few thousand kilometers off course! As the first snows fell, I had in mind to photograph this warbler foraging int he snow – not something you see every day, and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Most people were hoping it would move on, or at least survive the winter, but most also knew it likely would not if it stayed around too much longer. Well, two days after this photograph, after even colder temperatures blew in and heavier snow fell, it finally succumbed to the harsher habitat that it is not normally adapted to live in. This was a bittersweet image to process (and present as a favorite of 2017) as I now had the images of a warbler in the snow I had envisioned, but also realizing that this is the very situation that brought its’ demise.

6. Green Heron Plucking Fish Out of the Water.

I love photographing portrait close ups of my subjects, and when you add action or behaviour, then all the better. This very tame young individual allowed close approach and very intimate photo opportunities of its hunting prowess. Timing its’ strikes from so close presented framing challenges while trying to gauge exactly where the impact would occur, but once in a while I got a good image, and here an excellent one. I love the fish still halfway submerged in the water as it is being pulled out, and facing us for added impact.

5. Crab Spider Wanting a Hug.

During the late summer my brother and I had a bit of fun looking for various fungi and creepy crawlers at our folks’ cottage. I knew that goldenrod is often good for finding hiding, or camouflaged, insects, so we scouted a patch of those and were not disappointed with Crab Spiders. The setting was rather busy, and a good angle hard to get to, therefore I carefully placed the goldenrod in a better spot. To our surprise, the spider clambered down the flower and placed itself atop a protruding mossy stalk near the ground, and offered its typical “hug” pose, waiting to ambush incoming prey. It remained this way for a long time, enough to fiddle with settings and try new angles. After all was said and done the spider was placed back where it was found for it to resume its previous activities in peace…

4. Looming Snake Eyes.

I had just finished photographing my first ever Eastern Towhee, and while walking back along the trail to head back to my car I crossed paths with an Eastern Gartersnake. I had tons of fun and cool photo opportunities with this individual, and when I slapped on the macro lens things got real interesting! For this image I was lying flat on my belly, with the lens pointing up from below the snake’s eyes staring down at me. It was rather disconcerting looking at this scene through the viewfinder, but knowing that this is a harmless species of snake I was not too worried. It was tough to get the autofocus to accurately settle on the eyes, so I manually focused to within “ballpark” and then slowly physically rocked the camera forward and backward a few millimeters until it was bang on and fired a few frames – then repeated as necessary.

3. Andrew Haydon Park Glowing Sky.

Driving one of the children to volleyball practice across town, and knowing it was not worth driving back home only to return once back, I brought my camera gear to photograph whatever during the hour I had to kill. As soon as I hopped into my car to head out to a nearby local park, I saw what was brewing in the sky and just hoped this would remain until I reached my destination a few minutes down the road. Not only did it hold, but the sky became even more amazing as the setting sun glowed powerfully from within the thinner distant cloud layer. I do not often include the “hand of man” in my images, but the windmill found at this park was just begging to be included, and actually enhanced the mood, as well as the composition of the image. It was the most beautiful sky and cloud scene I saw in 2017. Less than two minutes later all was back to grey. This image is now also my home desktop “wallpaper” so I can relive the moment every day

2. Northern Cardinal On Delicate Perch.

These guys were not present locally when I was a young lad, and only started showing up 25-30 years ago when their range was pushing northwards. Today, they are one of the most common “feeder” birds and brighten up any day, especially in the winter. I usually photograph this species at setups, using food as enticement to get closer and onto pre-selected perches, but as I was walking along scouting an area I saw this beautiful female Northern Cardinal feeding “naturally” on this delicately dried up plant. It stayed put for a few minutes (an eternity in songbird photography) and allowed me to play with settings and angles. A short “kissing” noise had her turn her head towards me for a better connection between subject and viewer of the image. An impromptu photo session that resulted in my personal favorite cardinal image…and one that just may become a future Christmas card…

1. Sleeping, But Watchful, Red Fox.

Every time I go to Algonquin Park I end up with an image or two that instantly become personal favorites. 2017 was no exception. In January I went there specifically to photograph a large flock of Evening Grosbeaks that were present, but during a break in the action I went to another area in hopes to see Red Foxes that are usually a hit with visitors during warmer days. It was very cold, and somewhat snowy on this day, and the spot devoid of foxes, or people! After a few minutes, here came a vixen, likely the mate of the older male fox that is well known in the area. She came loping over curiously then settled down under an evergreen to take a nap. I went with the long lens plus a teleconverter and then went down to the ground and belly crawled in the fresh snow over to her until all I got in the frame was what you see below. She slept comfortably, and only opened an eye when branches rubbed together in the wind, or if a snow crunched under my weight as I moved for better comfort or balance.

I hope you enjoyed viewing and reading about this year’s “Top 10”! What impressed me the most is that despite being a bird photographer first, half of this list is of subjects other than an avian ones, including 4 out of the top 5.

Which one is your favorite? Is there one that surprises you with its inclusion?

Let’s see what 2018 will bring……..and with that, have a Happy New Year!

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/top-10-of-2017/feed/28Think Big…Small in the Frame.http://www.dancadphotography.com/think-big-small-in-the-frame/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/think-big-small-in-the-frame/#commentsSat, 21 Oct 2017 19:19:48 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=2419Most of us are the same when photographing birds: we want to get as close as possible to our subjects. Either physically, or with the help of long lenses (or both), we want to fill the frame and offer the best possible details to the feathers. This is fine most of the time, especially with well-balance compositions, and with tight and graphic “head-and-shoulders” portraits which I am a fan of. These images usually have well focused and sharp subjects set against smoothly blurred distant backgrounds. Most of my images go into this category. One negative aspect of this style is that apart from small clues (from a leafy identifiable perch, or sandy floor with a shell, for example), this offers no major hint of habitat, of where the subject lives or likes to hang out.

When the habitat is beautiful, it is wise to look for opportunities to include it in your image, with the subject small, or even very small, within it. This gives the viewer instant recognition of what type of habitat the bird was found in.

With small in the frame subjects, it is doubly important to pay particular attention to the background, and where the elements fall. In the image above, the large background tree was deliberately placed in the upper left corner to offer balance to the composition with the owl in lower right. Also to watch out for in this case was to move left or right to avoid having a fence post growing out and above the owl’s head. Taking a step or two to my left made sure that near post was not touching any part of the subject.

A small-in-the-frame strategy offers an advantage with skittish subjects, or smaller tough-to-get-close-to birds: you can simply photograph them from further away or with a smaller lens. When this Grasshopper Sparrow sang from a dried up milkweed sticking out of newer fresh ones, I photographed it right away in its grasslands surroundings before attempting to get closer.

Note again the deliberate placement of elements in the frame. The larger milkweed at right offering balance to the subject at left, as well as leaving some spacing around the taller grass stalk at upper left corner.

Going vertical is a great way to show beautiful habitat or taking advantage of appealing colours, especially when extending above the subject. By placing a distant egret in a low corner, this let the autumnal treeline dominate the canvas with its warm and vivid hues. Although 95% of the frame is wall-to-wall fall colouring, the small-in-the-frame Great Egret remains a strong anchoring point and main the focus point of the image.

Going horizontal with the egret image would not have resulted in such a dramatic output, and pointing the lens to the left would have kept the burgundy tree out of the frame – again putting the emphasis on being on the lookout for interesting background elements (and their placement) when creating these types of images.

Take note of most of the subject placements in this blog post. It is very rare that subjects placed in the center, or close to it, works well with these types of images. Three of the four images has the bird placed in a corner. This is the preferred subject placement when it is small. The sparrow is up higher, but the surroundings balance things out. I have rarely seen a fully centered composition work with small-in-the-frame, but rules are made to be broken – just make sure to have a good reason to do so.

Another plus when making the subject small in the frame is to put its’ size in perspective. Most people who have not seen a Green Heron before may think it is a large bird such as a Great Blue Heron or any of the egrets, or most of the other waders.

Photographing this individual small in the frame, next to some flowering “weeds”, really emphasized the diminutive stature of this species.

One last main reason to create small-in-the-frame images is simply to diversify your portfolio. It is really satisfying to look at a species folder and see all types of images of it: classic “textbook” frames, tight portraits, action images…and of course, small in the frame. Plus, as an added bonus, it really gets the creative juices flowing and helps keep interest high in photographing species that are often encountered!

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/think-big-small-in-the-frame/feed/4The Story Behind the Image 12 – Hunting Heron in Silhouettehttp://www.dancadphotography.com/the-story-behind-the-image-12-hunting-heron-in-silhouette/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/the-story-behind-the-image-12-hunting-heron-in-silhouette/#commentsMon, 24 Jul 2017 23:53:52 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=2307I have not posted a “Story Behind the Image” in a while, but after a few requests this reminded me it was time for a new one. New story, but of an oldie, one of my personal favorites. I included one of the images in the “Silhouettes” blog post from a while back, if you wish to check back for a couple of tips there.

One early summer morning I arrived at one of my favorite local ponds, right at sunrise. While scouting the area I saw a Great Blue Heron posing majestically tall in shallow water. There was, however, and ugly man-made structure directly behind it. For me this negated the opportunity except for two exceptions: tight front-lit close-ups, or swinging around to the other side for possible silhouettes. Since I had “only” a 100-400mm lens at that time, and the heron a little too far for tight portraits, I walked around to see what the scene looked like from the opposite side…the colour was beautiful and the scene clean…and I was standing right next to that ugly structure so it only shows that simply moving around can get rid of big distracting stuff to make it look “wilder” than it actually was

I then aligned myself for two things: to get the brightest and most vivid oranges into the frame, and then also to keep a few distractions that were poking up through the water out of the frame.

Usually, if not always when confronted with silhouettes, dialing the settings to obtain a solid black subject is a good place to start. Sometimes you may want to keep some detail in those blacks to then fully blacken during post-processing – this helps with keeping details in paler areas of the frame, if needed. Just as I was dialing in the settings for silhouettes, the heron began to hunt for minnows in the otherwise perfectly calm water. What resulted was an amazing series of water splashes and reflections that were (and still are) unlike anything I had photographed before, with these two being my favorites:

Talk about luck having the heron hunting just at that opportune time. The heron spent about 10 minutes fishing from this very spot. Every 30 seconds or so I would let off a sequence of images, timed with it striking of the water. Time of the bottom image is 6:24 AM, top image 6:26 AM. It was barely half an hour after sunrise and I felt like I had a day’s worth of great images to process. This shows the importance of getting to a location early – before the crowds and before the harsh light. Lots of birds are very active first thing in the morning too, so you get additional chances at cool action.

The last thing I remember from that session is heading out of the park at about 9:30AM to go back home, and crossing a group of photographers that were just arriving, them asking me if there was anything good to photograph, to which I giddily replied “Oh yeah! But that was 3 hours ago!”

Keen-eyed readers will note the use of Aperture Priority in the exif described under the images, which was the mode I preferred back then. If there is one thing I would change and highly suggest today is to go to full manual mode in a situation like this. Although AV worked well for me that time, going manual would ensure an exact same exposure for all frames taken during the encounter. Accidentally metering in a different spot while in Aperture Priority would have changed the exposure – not good.

During post-processing, after converting the raw files into tifs, all that was to be done were small crops to help the compositions, deepen the blacks to get a solid shape out of the heron, add saturation to the oranges, and remove a few spots in the water that I felt were extraneous.

In ending this blog post, I know which of the two images is my favorite…which one is yours?

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/the-story-behind-the-image-12-hunting-heron-in-silhouette/feed/6Attention to Detailhttp://www.dancadphotography.com/attention-to-detail/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/attention-to-detail/#commentsSat, 03 Jun 2017 21:17:12 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=2299A short and sweet blog post about paying attention to small details, in this case at a setup perch. See the image immediately below. At first glance the image is appealing enough. A male American Redstart on a beautifully blooming crab apple tree branch. Good light and background. All is well in warbler photography world, right? Well, maybe for most, but to some (like me) a couple of leaves are just much too close to the subject and are rather distracting. When I saw the scene developing through the viewfinder I immediately saw this problematic element.

These two long leaves would be an easy fix during post-processing, but it’s even better to get it right in the field. I proceeded to go over and physically pinch them off the perch, and hoped for the warbler to perch there again. I was lucky it did, and I had a clean frame to work with, but this was a small detail that should have been noticed from the get-go an dealt with before working the camera. I could have just easily have ended up with a bit more post-processing than could have been needed. Here’s a frame of when it did come back to the wanted spot (as a bonus I got a better profile head angle too):

Small lesson: although we can always “Photoshop” it out, it’s always easier to prepare first, and avoid extra processing work later. Always best, and more satisfying, to get it right with proper planning! To close out this short and sweet blog post, here’s my personal favorite from that session:

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/attention-to-detail/feed/4Exploring the Angleshttp://www.dancadphotography.com/exploring-the-angles/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/exploring-the-angles/#commentsWed, 22 Mar 2017 22:54:30 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=2235When confronted with such a cool bird as an owl, it is very tempting to go straight for the close-up, head-on image(s). Nothing wrong with that at all, and I am in the same boat as most when getting mesmerized by these amazing animals. Case in point, see this picture I took of an Eastern Screech-Owl. Perfectly down-the-barrel, and as an added bonus, sitting in a pretty gnarly roosting hole too.

Most would be happy with only this frame in the bag, and perhaps a few other very similar ones, and head home with a smile. I know I would…but there is more to be had by simply moving around! This screech owl was going nowhere, so I took the opportunity to walk around and see what other options I had to photograph this excellent subject. First, moving way back and to my right. Once I had the distance I was happy with, I needed to watch out for background distractions. Moving up, down, left, right, just a few inches either removed or introduced elements into the frame. Once happy with the background and overall angle I waited for the owl to look elsewhere than directly towards me.

Then I walked a very wide arc to my left to see what type of opportunity there was from the other side of the tree. Once there I noticed how impressive the cavity was around and above the owl, therefore I flipped my camera to create a few verticals to take advantage of all that beautifully weathered roosting hole. Once again I needed to move up, down, left, right just a few inches at a time to make sure the background was free of distractions – either unwanted branches, or ugly highlights. There was only a thin window of movement that allowed the yellows to cover the majority of the background, and I worked all possible movement tweaks to make sure those were in. After having attained the perfect angle I created a few more frames, with this one my favorite from that side of the tree, and my overall favorite of the session with this owl.

The lesson here, when you have a cooperative subject, is to not just find the best spot and then glue your feet there. Note the very same focal length used in the three images, I had to use my feet! Walk around, back, forth. Take some verticals, horizontals. Close ups, wider views. Look for different backgrounds, point of views, angles. What I like here is that in three images I have three totally different views and angles of the subject. All from the same session, and same perch, but three very different images with differing colours (when a distant background was included). Doing this also helps hone your skills and keep the creative juices flowing. Not all images will work or turn out the way it felt at that moment in the field, but the rewards far outweigh the alternative!

]]>http://www.dancadphotography.com/exploring-the-angles/feed/10My Position On Wing Positionhttp://www.dancadphotography.com/my-position-on-wing-position/
http://www.dancadphotography.com/my-position-on-wing-position/#commentsTue, 21 Feb 2017 23:51:17 +0000http://www.dancadphotography.com/?p=2215A Great Blue Heron suddenly appears from your right, flying at eye level right above beautiful marsh habitat, and crosses in front of you perfectly parallel to the camera. You fire off a series of 12 images, each one being sharp, well exposed, and needing but a slight crop to help the composition. For many that can bring on an unexpected predicament: which one(s) to post-process? One option is to keep and process them all, but that is rather redundant IMO. Better, cull them and keep the best half. But again, which ones to keep? Best, cull them all but the very best one, or perhaps a second one too.

Taking the very situation above, I have culled the initial series of twelve down to the four that had the best background. Four varying wing positions, and a single one I want to keep for my files (and did), but processed the four of them for this blog post to discuss why. Looking at the four images above, I knew immediately which one was best to keep, and by a mile. None of them are “that bad”, but one is a standout to me. Let’s take a closer look at them (all taken with the following gear and settings: Canon 7DII + 500mm f4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2000s., f/5.6, ISO 800):

Slight down stroke

Better than the full “pancake” wing position (wings spread flat, like a small airplane), which is the worst IMO. Still not quite to my liking though. Had this been a rare bird for me, or a personal first ever sighting of this species, and this was the only image I had managed of it, then I’d keep this frame. Otherwise, it’s a “delete” for me. A few extra grasses crossing the head and neck also help me in making this one bound for the trash can.

2. Bent wing

The heron is perfectly sharp, and nicely parallel to the back of the camera. But the wings are bent at the joint. It is an awkward position to me. Yes, that is a natural bend but artistically this just does not speak to me. Some may like it, but for me this is a bad wing position, especially when you have others to choose from. Instant delete for me.

3. Slight up stroke

This one is the same vain as image #1, and another that I would only keep only in those same conditions. OK, but not ideal. Had the wings been extended fully up, my second favorite position, then I would have kept it no matter if there was a better wing position or not in the series. I wish I had a “full up stroke” in this series, but the heron was not in full power-flight and thus never extended its wings up so high. The background is better here and less distracting around the face area. Still, this is a “delete” for me in this particular case.

4. Full down stroke

Ahh, now we’re talking! Hands down my favorite wing position for a bird flying relatively parallel to the back of the camera, beating only the full up stroke. This beautifully shows the full thickness of the wings. We can clearly see all primaries, secondaries, and tertials. The textures, patterns and colour variations are better defined. We get a full sense of the power of flight, making the image a much more dynamic one. As an added bonus, the face is clear of distracting grasses, and the bill is slightly open, adding yet another point of interest.

So that is my reasoning in culling images in a series. Choosing to keep only one, maybe two, of the best in a sequence of flight images. Do you agree, or not? Which one do you like best?